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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Detox for the Holidays

The holidays are officially amongst us! For some of us that means probably eating a bit more than usual, maybe eating more sweets and even indulging in more drinks that you may be used to. In the middle of all this madness it may be quite easy to forget about your health or your diet. The week after Thanksgiving I feel is the perfect week to do a bit of a detox or a cleanse!

A few weeks ago I decided to do Team Taralynn's Cleanse. I did a lot of research on DIY type cleanses or detoxes and this one seemed to be the easiest and healthiest. It didn't involve only juices for days at a time, only eating cabbage soup or things like that. This cleanse involved eating real food and didn't involve starvation!

The cleanse is 7 days long and is broken into three phases. Phase one is basically a lesson on clean eating. This phase includes eating three balanced meals a day and consuming as many veggies as your heart desires! Taralynn also includes tons of meal ideas. Phase three is exactly the same thing, which is awesome!

My favorite lunch and dinner for phases one and three were grilled chicken with broccoli and brown rice. Add in the right seasonings and this meal is actually quite delicious.

Phase 2, which lasts 2 days, consists of eating only fruit. At first I was quite scared of this phase, but got along with it just fine. Unbeknownst to me prior to starting this cleanse, avocado and tomato are actually fruits. So for breakfast and snacks I had some smoothies and for lunch and dinners I had avocado and tomato salads.

My primary reason for doing this cleanse was to see if I could actually do it. My biggest weakness is my willpower and this cleanse was really a test of feats for me. I was proud to say that I made it 5 days through this cleanse! I wanted to make it 7, but I did it the week of Halloween and knew I would be drinking that weekend.

My secondary reason for doing this was to jumpstart a weight loss. In 5 days of doing this cleanse I lost 4 pounds. Also, in the three weeks since I've done the cleanse I have kept 3 pounds off! I'm quite proud.

Tips and tricks:
*Drink the herbal tea she mentions! I don't drink herbal tea, but I should've forced myself to drink it for the caffeine alone. The withdrawl headaches I had were horrendous!
*Have everything prepared! Bring tons of fruits and vegetables with you to work or out so you aren't tempted.
*Drink tons of water! It helps keep you full and helps ward off any headaches.
*Tell your friends and family. You don't want them offering you something you may have a difficult time giving up!